Bouwfonds IM disposes of portfolio worth over EUR 4 billion

March 5th, 2018

Bouwfonds Investment Management, subsidiary of Rabo Real Estate Group, has completed the disposal of a large part of its portfolio. This is in line with the strategy of Rabo Real Estate Group to cut back its activities in the field of fund and asset management. The phase out consists of the following parts:

Transfer of shares of CIF Fixed lines and CAIW to EQT Infrastructure and the sale of tower assets to TenneT

Sale of Business Unit Agri

Jaap Gillis, CEO of Bouwfonds IM: ‘We have now completed the disposal of important parts of our portfolio. During this successful operation, the interests of our customers, employees and parent company Rabobank were always our priority. Marnix Boessenkool, CFO of Bouwfonds IM: ‘As a result of this successful divestment, Bouwfonds IM’s portfolio has been cut back from over 6.3 billion euros in 2015 to 2.1 billion euros now.’

“On March 5th, Bouwfonds IM has transferred in a management buy-out various activities to the managers responsible for the relevant business units, financially supported by Commonwealth Investment B.V. The transaction concerns all activities of the business unit Parking, most of the activities of the business unit Residential and the German communication infrastructure fund (BCIF II). ‘We are convinced that through this management buy-out, we can serve the interests of our customers, employees and other stakeholders in the best possible manner. The team that will be leading the new company has been responsible for these funds for a number of years and is in an excellent position to successfully continue these activities,’ says Jaap Gillis.

In November 2017, IEF Capital (a joint venture of Bouwfonds IM & IEF) and CBRE Global Investors announced that a consortium headed by CBRE Global Investors, consisting of three Dutch institutional investors and the CBRE Dutch Retail Fund, have recapitalised the shares in IEF Capital Berlage Zuid and IEF Capital Berlage HB ll.

In November 2017, Bouwfonds IM also announced that it had transferred parts of its indirect interests in the company CIF I: Fixed lines (via Rabo Bouwfonds Communication Infrastructure Fund C.V. – specialised in the field of communication and infrastructure), and CAIW – to EQT Infrastructure. CIF I is a coaxial and fibre infrastructure company that supplies broadband access to more than 350,000 households in the Netherlands. CAIW Holding is a provider of cable tv, digital telephony and internet access. Separately, Bouwfonds IM also transferred its indirect interests of the telecommunication towers from CIF l to TenneT.

Marnix Boessenkool: ‘We are delighted that in the second half of 2017 in particular, we were able to achieve and prepare these results. The phasing out and management buy-out, which involved many parties, was a complex operation which required great precision and dedication from our organisation. This is a great result for both Bouwfonds IM and Rabo Real Estate Group’. Bouwfonds IM will continue the remaining activities with the existing management board consisting of Jaap Gillis, Marnix Boessenkool and Rudolf Thomeer. Rabobank will continue to support the company and ensure a smooth transfer to the new owners.